Week 17: Bears vs. Green Bay - Sunday Dec 31, 7 pm CST

[BigSlick]

ESPN has some smart people working for them. Preseason picks: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/preview06/news/story?id=2568742

 

No worse than the MLB guys who, ONCE THE PLAYOFF FIELD HAD ALREADY BEEN DECIDED, had zero analysts predict a STL vs. DET World Series. None.

 

Lots of "Colts vs. Panthers" picks out there, which, in the preseason, seemed like a pretty safe choice. None of us saw Carolina sucking it up like this

 

Safe? What was the indication that the Colts were going to spin out of their playoff funk?

 

Which reminds me of a thought I had. The last 3-4 years the Colts have looked impressive in the regular season and then explode terrbly in the playoffs. Which means...the Colts are going to the Super Bowl this year.

 

When I originally thought about it, it didn't add up. Their run defense is TERRIBLE. But then I looked at their current match up. They are playing the Jets...who have a fairly anemic run offense. They wouldn't be able to take advantage of the Colts weakness, and probably wouldn't be wise enough to just run it up the gut every down. (I still don't understand why the Bengals didnt do this. fools) So, game one down.

 

Then all they have to do is upset the Chargers/Ravens (not far fetched at all, honestly, the Ravens scare no one on offense, and we know Peyton will move the ball on any defense)

 

And then just another game against either team or the depleted Patriots squad of 2004. Not too hard.

 

I hate the Colts with all my heart, but that is exactly the reason I can see them making a Cardinals-esque postseason run. Because God hates me.

[Sosa21MVP]

I'm sick and tired of everyone talking the Bears down. Whether it's national media or some Chicago area shows or certain fan forums, I swear on my copy of the Super Bowl Shuffle that I've never heard a more negative attitude towards a 13-2 team in my life.

 

And the "experts" talking about how half the AFC would beat the Bears, I don't even want to get started on that one.

 

Look I'm a huge Bears fan and of course a bit of a homer at heart but c'mon, it seems like A LOT of people are determined to not give the Bears much respect. I don't care who they have played, you can only play the teams on your schedule and beat them. That is true of any team in the NFL and last I checked, the Bears are doing as good a job of beating the teams put in front of them as anyone else in the league. This isn't the freaking BCS or the college basketball where strength of schedule affects your seeding etc.

 

Then again, being overlooked makes every win that much sweeter. 8-)

[Soriano12]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/187114,CST-SPT-bear27.article

 

according to Brad Biggs, Alex "The Contract" Brown might lose his starting job to Mark Anderson. And deservedly so.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/187114,CST-SPT-bear27.article

 

according to Brad Biggs, Alex "The Contract" Brown might lose his starting job to Mark Anderson. And deservedly so.

 

Even though Anderson can't stop the run.

[Flames24Rulz]

For the Packers, Woodson, Green, and Driver are all probable, although they did miss practice today.

 

There's no doubt that they will all play. Woodson and Driver reaggravated previous injuries in the Minnesota game, but they both came back later that game. Green always seems a little banged up, but he'll play as well.

 

For the most part, we've been relatively lucky on injuries this season.

[Soriano12]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/187114,CST-SPT-bear27.article

 

according to Brad Biggs, Alex "The Contract" Brown might lose his starting job to Mark Anderson. And deservedly so.

 

Even though Anderson can't stop the run.

 

Mark Anderson has made numerous of big stops vs. the run. I have no idea where this myth came from.

[UMFan83]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/187114,CST-SPT-bear27.article

 

according to Brad Biggs, Alex "The Contract" Brown might lose his starting job to Mark Anderson. And deservedly so.

 

Alex Brown is a great player. I really think you need to look past the sack totals to understand what he brings to the game. In fact if anyone was to be replaced, I'd prefer it was the guy on the other side of the line

[Soriano12]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/187114,CST-SPT-bear27.article

 

according to Brad Biggs, Alex "The Contract" Brown might lose his starting job to Mark Anderson. And deservedly so.

 

Alex Brown is a great player.

 

In the Meadowlands he is. The fact is the whole "sacks don't matter" attitdue died when Jauron and Blache left, and thankfully so. Sacks do matter. Jon Kitna proved that Sunday. The Bears had a few opportunties to sack him on the last play, and luckilly Big Bust Mike Williams dropped that ball.

 

Not only is Brown not getting to the QB, he is getting owned at the LOS. Alex Brown is an extremely streaky player and needs to step it up or else.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Not that it really matters:

 

Larry: It appears that the Bears have found a very special player in Mark Anderson. Do you foresee any situation where he may supplant either of the starting defensive ends? Do you think because of his size and speed there would be a chance of him playing outside linebacker if the Bears don’t re-sign Lance Briggs?

 

S. Dozier

Santa Rosa, California

 

I do expect Mark Anderson to see even more playing time, but coach Lovie Smith said Wednesday that the Bears aren’t making any starting lineup changes at the position. With that being said, though, I fully expect Anderson to challenge Alex Brown for the right end job next summer in training camp. In terms of your second question, Anderson is ideally suited to play defensive end in Smith’s scheme, so I don’t see him moving to outside linebacker.

 

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/ChalkTalkStory.asp?story_id=2855

[Soul]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/187114,CST-SPT-bear27.article

 

according to Brad Biggs, Alex "The Contract" Brown might lose his starting job to Mark Anderson. And deservedly so.

 

Alex Brown is a great player.

 

In the Meadowlands he is. The fact is the whole "sacks don't matter" attitdue died when Jauron and Blache left, and thankfully so. Sacks do matter. Jon Kitna proved that Sunday. The Bears had a few opportunties to sack him on the last play, and luckilly Big Bust Mike Williams dropped that ball.

 

Not only is Brown not getting to the QB, he is getting owned at the LOS. Alex Brown is an extremely streaky player and needs to step it up or else.

 

Maybe someone ought to tell Ogun that too, then.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Certainly, Alex Brown has outplayed Ogunleye.

 

And sacks aren't the only way to judge a defensive end - they certainly are important and UMF nor I are taking away from their importance (we're not saying "sacks don't matter" and we're not taking the Blache line). They're just not the be-all, end-all of a defensive end.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Certainly, Alex Brown has outplayed Ogunleye.

 

And sacks aren't the only way to judge a defensive end - they certainly are important and UMF nor I are taking away from their importance (we're not saying "sacks don't matter" and we're not taking the Blache line). They're just not the be-all, end-all of a defensive end.

[chuckywang]

ESPN has some smart people working for them. Preseason picks: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/preview06/news/story?id=2568742

 

No worse than the MLB guys who, ONCE THE PLAYOFF FIELD HAD ALREADY BEEN DECIDED, had zero analysts predict a STL vs. DET World Series. None.

 

 

Need we remember how STL ended the season? There was absolutely no reason to pick them in the World Series. And for that matter, DET too. People almost forget that it was the Twins that won that division.

[BigSlick]

Certainly, Alex Brown has outplayed Ogunleye.

 

And sacks aren't the only way to judge a defensive end - they certainly are important and UMF nor I are taking away from their importance (we're not saying "sacks don't matter" and we're not taking the Blache line). They're just not the be-all, end-all of a defensive end.

 

To be fair, the lack of holding calls on our defensive ends have frustrated me a bit this season. (Almost as bad as the non-calls that Berrian should have got in the Patriots game, all the controversy about Grossman and the Bears might have been completely forgotten if the reffs threw 2 flags after Berrian was practically molested, but thats for a different post)

 

Still, our pass rush needs to be there or our cover 2 will just be picked apart in the playoffs. Since the Patriots game quarterbacks have had all day to find an open receiver.

 

I'm not opposed to blitzing either...but seeing Lance Briggs launch himself at a guard isn't going to get the job done either.

[cubweiser03]

I was just looking at some stats and was really surprised by how many penalties and how many penalty yards the Bears have given up. They are the most penalized defense in the NFL with 129. Only 3 teams are over 100. They have the most yards penalized. As a reference they have more than 500 yards than the Ravens do. Its the most penalized unit in all of football, including all of the offenses. Of the top 20 defenses in the NFL there are only 4 teams with over 800 penalty yards including the Bears. They are the only team in the NFL over 900 and they have 1049. Damn. Anybody got an theory/reason for all of this?

 

They are awesome in 3rd down conversions as well as fumble recoveries though.

[Soul]

Certainly, Alex Brown has outplayed Ogunleye.

 

And sacks aren't the only way to judge a defensive end - they certainly are important and UMF nor I are taking away from their importance (we're not saying "sacks don't matter" and we're not taking the Blache line). They're just not the be-all, end-all of a defensive end.

 

To be fair, the lack of holding calls on our defensive ends have frustrated me a bit this season. (Almost as bad as the non-calls that Berrian should have got in the Patriots game, all the controversy about Grossman and the Bears might have been completely forgotten if the reffs threw 2 flags after Berrian was practically molested, but thats for a different post)

 

Still, our pass rush needs to be there or our cover 2 will just be picked apart in the playoffs. Since the Patriots game quarterbacks have had all day to find an open receiver.

 

I'm not opposed to blitzing either...but seeing Lance Briggs launch himself at a guard isn't going to get the job done either.

 

I'm frustrated with the non-holding calls too. But I've got to be honest: from what I'm seeing, it's down all over the league. My best guess is the league is giving the offense more license to hold in order to protect QBs better. It makes sense; the NFL is bound and determined to create a baby's cradle for every QB so they can throw bombs with impunity.

 

The NFL is trying like heck to keep every game above the 50 point barrier. Any time teams score over 20 apiece, the casual fans stay tuned in longer. It's ruining the game for true fans like me, but the league knows I'm addicted so they don't care what I think.

[Soul]

I was just looking at some stats and was really surprised by how many penalties and how many penalty yards the Bears have given up. They are the most penalized defense in the NFL with 129. Only 3 teams are over 100. They have the most yards penalized. As a reference they have more than 500 yards than the Ravens do. Its the most penalized unit in all of football, including all of the offenses. Of the top 20 defenses in the NFL there are only 4 teams with over 800 penalty yards including the Bears. They are the only team in the NFL over 900 and they have 1049. Damn. Anybody got an theory/reason for all of this?

 

They are awesome in 3rd down conversions as well as fumble recoveries though.

 

The reason is simple. This defense could play much more physical football----and indeed WANTS to play much more physical football. So they get many more phantom roughing penalties, more of those stupid horsecollars (Bears have 2 of those I believe, and while I'm sure others have gotten them too I haven't seen it), more offsides (including several by Tommie Harris which clearly were not offsides).

 

The Bears defense wants to play like the defenses of yore. But the league's new rules and enforcement won't allow it.

[Banedon]

I was just looking at some stats and was really surprised by how many penalties and how many penalty yards the Bears have given up. They are the most penalized defense in the NFL with 129. Only 3 teams are over 100. They have the most yards penalized. As a reference they have more than 500 yards than the Ravens do. Its the most penalized unit in all of football, including all of the offenses. Of the top 20 defenses in the NFL there are only 4 teams with over 800 penalty yards including the Bears. They are the only team in the NFL over 900 and they have 1049. Damn. Anybody got an theory/reason for all of this?

 

They are awesome in 3rd down conversions as well as fumble recoveries though.

 

I'm not sure where you're getting this...

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/sortableStatsTeam?div=NFL&stype=offense&stable=downs&stat=penTot&dir=descending&season=regular

 

This has the Bears 5th in the NFL with 106 penalties. 3rd in total penalty yards with 879.

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats backs this up as well.

[Soriano12]

Certainly, Alex Brown has outplayed Ogunleye.

 

And sacks aren't the only way to judge a defensive end - they certainly are important and UMF nor I are taking away from their importance (we're not saying "sacks don't matter" and we're not taking the Blache line). They're just not the be-all, end-all of a defensive end.

 

 

Agree to dissagree I guess.

 

But what about this scenario, could we trade either Brown or Ogun this offseason without a cap hit, then use this money to re-sign Briggs?

 

I have no clue as to NFL Salary Cap logistics, so this might not be possible.

[goonys evil twin]

I was just looking at some stats and was really surprised by how many penalties and how many penalty yards the Bears have given up. They are the most penalized defense in the NFL with 129. Only 3 teams are over 100. They have the most yards penalized. As a reference they have more than 500 yards than the Ravens do. Its the most penalized unit in all of football, including all of the offenses. Of the top 20 defenses in the NFL there are only 4 teams with over 800 penalty yards including the Bears. They are the only team in the NFL over 900 and they have 1049. Damn. Anybody got an theory/reason for all of this?

 

They are awesome in 3rd down conversions as well as fumble recoveries though.

 

I'm not sure where you're getting this...

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/sortableStatsTeam?div=NFL&stype=offense&stable=downs&stat=penTot&dir=descending&season=regular

 

This has the Bears 5th in the NFL with 106 penalties. 3rd in total penalty yards with 879.

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats backs this up as well.

 

That is the Bears offense. Switch to the defense.

[Banedon]

I was just looking at some stats and was really surprised by how many penalties and how many penalty yards the Bears have given up. They are the most penalized defense in the NFL with 129. Only 3 teams are over 100. They have the most yards penalized. As a reference they have more than 500 yards than the Ravens do. Its the most penalized unit in all of football, including all of the offenses. Of the top 20 defenses in the NFL there are only 4 teams with over 800 penalty yards including the Bears. They are the only team in the NFL over 900 and they have 1049. Damn. Anybody got an theory/reason for all of this?

 

They are awesome in 3rd down conversions as well as fumble recoveries though.

 

I'm not sure where you're getting this...

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/sortableStatsTeam?div=NFL&stype=offense&stable=downs&stat=penTot&dir=descending&season=regular

 

This has the Bears 5th in the NFL with 106 penalties. 3rd in total penalty yards with 879.

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats backs this up as well.

 

That is the Bears offense. Switch to the defense.

 

Ooops...my bad. Heh.

[jjgman21]

I was just looking at some stats and was really surprised by how many penalties and how many penalty yards the Bears have given up. They are the most penalized defense in the NFL with 129. Only 3 teams are over 100. They have the most yards penalized. As a reference they have more than 500 yards than the Ravens do. Its the most penalized unit in all of football, including all of the offenses. Of the top 20 defenses in the NFL there are only 4 teams with over 800 penalty yards including the Bears. They are the only team in the NFL over 900 and they have 1049. Damn. Anybody got an theory/reason for all of this?

 

They are awesome in 3rd down conversions as well as fumble recoveries though.

 

The reason is simple. This defense could play much more physical football----and indeed WANTS to play much more physical football. So they get many more phantom roughing penalties, more of those stupid horsecollars (Bears have 2 of those I believe, and while I'm sure others have gotten them too I haven't seen it), more offsides (including several by Tommie Harris which clearly were not offsides).

 

The Bears defense wants to play like the defenses of yore. But the league's new rules and enforcement won't allow it.

 

 

the phantom roughing penalties are indeed what is going on from what I have seen. I think the Bears have been called for blows to the QBs head about 8-10 times this year where they either didn't hit the head at all or the blow to the head was an incidental brush by the arm. there have been several downfield plays where the refs call would have been more accurate had he said "personal foul, hitting too hard."

 

back to what you were saying about holding, can't say I agree with your assessment. while holding may be down around the league, I haven't seen defensive lineman routinely tackled from behind by O-lineman without drawing the hanky in any non-Bears game. said scenerio literally happens about 3-4 times per game. in the meantime, the past few weeks I have seen several instances of the Bears offense being called for holding and then even the broadcasters say "not sure where the hold was in that" after the replay.

 

and whoever made the point about the Patriots game was right on. there were 3-4 non calls on PA in the first half that completely changed the game (and that's just the sort of thing that can get into a young QBs head), and the tackles from behind by O-lineman that I just discussed happened on just about every pass play the Patriots ran the whole game. can't block em? just grab an ankle as they pass by. the stripes are cool with that.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Don't forget the flexing the arms penalty, guys.

 

Silly Urlacher for flexing.

[Jon]

Ruben Brown (shoulder), Thomas Jones (ankle), McKie (ankle) and Charles Tillman (back) all were held out of practice Wednesday. Brown and Jones are listed as probable, McKie and Tillman questionable. Tackle John Tait (ankle) and linebacker Leon Joe (hamstring) are listed as questionable but both practiced.

Sure hope Tillman is ready to play Sunday night. I don't want him to go a full month without getting into a game.

[UMFan83]

It's official guys!

 

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/4895/favremadden5rw.jpg

 

Congrats to Brett and John for finally doing the inevitable.